Feb 09, 2017 11:53 PM EST By Chris Brandt, UniversityHerald Reporter

MIT scientists have developed an active auxetic material that can act like pores on the skin. This material tightens in cold weather to keep the warmth inside, and loosens up in hot weather to let the air in.

Auxetic materials are not something new. They have been used in different applications, such as bungee cords and footwear, because of their characteristic - they become thicker when stretched along its length, and thinner when compressed lengthwise.

For example, rubber shoes that have auxetic design makes the soles expand when a person walks or runs giving him or her flexibility. However, the material that the MIT scientists developed is more advanced because it does not require human action to get activated. It responds automatically to outside stimulus and is 'programmable' to react in various ways.

According to the MIT scientists, auxetic materials have a lot of potential in fashion and design. Skylar Tibbits, the co-founder and director of the Self-Assembly Lab, said that artists and fashion designers have been using active materials. He mentioned Issey Miyake and Suzanne Lee as among those who have used such materials.

Another possible use of this active auxetic material is in high-performance clothing as well as in wearable devices and smart garments, which are equipped with sensors and electronics. Tibbits was quick to add that such applications are still in their infancy and more tests are needed. However, he is optimistic that the Lab will make clothing made of these 'magic materials' that will turn leather sci-fi suits obsolete.

Aside from active auxetics, the MIT Self-Assembly Lab has already developed several programmable materials including a self-assembling chair, 4D-printed textiles, and reversible concrete.

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